A vitamin is an organic compound required as a nutrient in tiny amounts by an organism.

rganism. n other words, an organic chemical compound (or related set of

compounds) is called a vitamin when it cannot be synthesized in sufficient quantities by an organism, and must be obtained from the diet. Thus, the term is
conditional both on the circumstances and on the particular organism. For example, ascorbic acid (vitamin C) is a vitamin for humans, but not for most other
animals, and biotin and vitamin D are required in the human diet only in certain circumstances. By convention, the term ;9,23 does not include otheressential
nutrients such as dietary minerals, essential fatty acids, or essential amino acids (which are needed in larger amounts than vitamins), nor does it encompass the
large number of other nutrients that promote health but are otherwise required less often. Thirteen vitamins are universally recognized at present.
ist of vitamins
ach vitamin is typically used in multiple reactions, and, therefore, most have multiple functions.
17

Vitamin
generic
descript
or name
Vitamer chemicaI name(s) (Iist not
compIete)
SoIubiIity
Recommend
ed dietary
aIIowances
(maIe, age
19-70)
18

Deficiency disease
Upper
Intake
eveI
(Uday)
1
8

Overdose
disease
Good sources
Vitamin A
Retinol, retinal, and
four carotenoids
including beta carotene
Fat 900 g
Night-
blindness,Hyperkeratos
is, andKeratomalacia
19

3,000 g
Hypervitamin
osis A
Orange
vegetables
carrots,
pumpkin,
squash,
spinach
Vitamin B1 Thiamine Water 1.2 mg
Beriberi, Wernicke-
Korsakoff syndrome
N/D
20

Drowsiness
or muscle
relaxation
with large
Oatmeal, rice,
vegetables,
kale,
cauliflower,
potatoes, liver,
Vitamin
generic
descript
or name
Vitamer chemicaI name(s) (Iist not
compIete)
SoIubiIity
Recommend
ed dietary
aIIowances
(maIe, age
19-70)
18

Deficiency disease
Upper
Intake
eveI
(Uday)
1
8

Overdose
disease
Good sources
doses.
21
eggs
Vitamin B2 Riboflavin Water 1.3 mg Ariboflavinosis N/D

Dairy products,
bananas,
popcorn, green
beans,
asparagus
Vitamin B3 Niacin, niacinamide Water 16.0 mg Pellagra 35.0 mg
Liver damag
e (doses >
2g/day)
22
an
dother
problems
Meat, fish,
eggs, many
vegetables,
mushrooms,
tree nuts
Vitamin B5 Pantothenic acid Water 5.0 mg
23
Paresthesia N/D
Diarrhea;
possibly
nausea and
heartburn.
24

Meat, broccoli,
avacados
Vitamin
generic
descript
or name
Vitamer chemicaI name(s) (Iist not
compIete)
SoIubiIity
Recommend
ed dietary
aIIowances
(maIe, age
19-70)
18

Deficiency disease
Upper
Intake
eveI
(Uday)
1
8

Overdose
disease
Good sources
Vitamin B6 Pyridoxine,pyridoxamine, pyridoxal Water 1.3-1.7 mg
Anemia
25
peripheral
neuropathy.
100 mg
mpairment
of propriocep
tion, nerve
damage
(doses >
100 mg/day)
Meat,
vegetables,
tree nuts,
bananas
Vitamin B7 Biotin Water 30.0 g Dermatitis, enteritis N/D

Raw egg yolk,
liver, peanuts,
certain
vegetables
Vitamin B9 Folic acid, folinic acid Water 400 g
Megaloblast and
Deficiency during
pregnancy is
associated with birth
defects, such asneural
tube defects
1,000 g
May mask
symptoms of
vitamin
B12deficiency
; other
effects.
Leafy
vegetables,
pasta, bread,
cereal, liver
Vitamin
generic
descript
or name
Vitamer chemicaI name(s) (Iist not
compIete)
SoIubiIity
Recommend
ed dietary
aIIowances
(maIe, age
19-70)
18

Deficiency disease
Upper
Intake
eveI
(Uday)
1
8

Overdose
disease
Good sources
Vitamin B12
Cyanocobalamin,hydroxycobalamin,methylco
balamin
Water 2.4 g Megaloblastic anemia
26
N/D
Acne-like
rash
causality is
not
conclusively
established.
Meat and other
animal
products
Vitamin C Ascorbic acid Water 90.0 mg Scurvy 2,000 mg
Vitamin C
megadosage
Many fruits and
vegetables,
liver
Vitamin D Cholecalciferol Fat
5.0 g
10 g
27

Rickets and Osteomala
cia
50 g
Hypervitamin
osis D
Fish, eggs,
liver,
mushrooms
Vitamin E Tocopherols,tocotrienols Fat 15.0 mg
Deficiency is very rare;
mildhemolytic
anemia in newborn
1,000 mg
ncreased
congestive
heart failure
seen in one
Many fruits and
vegetables
Vitamin
generic
descript
or name
Vitamer chemicaI name(s) (Iist not
compIete)
SoIubiIity
Recommend
ed dietary
aIIowances
(maIe, age
19-70)
18

Deficiency disease
Upper
Intake
eveI
(Uday)
1
8

Overdose
disease
Good sources
infants.
28
large
randomized
study.
29

Vitamin K phylloquinone,menaquinones Fat 120 g Bleeding diathesis N/D
ncreases
coagulation
in patients
taking warfar
in.
30

n nutrition and diseases

Vitamins are essential for the normal growth and development of a multicellular organism. Using the genetic blueprint inherited from its parents, a fetus begins to
develop, at the moment of conception, from the nutrients it absorbs. t requires certain vitamins and minerals to be present at certain times. These nutrients
facilitate the chemical reactions that produce among other things, skin, bone, andmuscle. f there is serious deficiency in one or more of these nutrients, a child
may develop a deficiency disease. ven minor deficiencies may cause permanent damage.
For the most part, vitamins are obtained with food, but a few are obtained by other means. For example, microorganisms in the intestine commonly known as
"gut flora" produce vitamin K and biotin, while one form of vitamin D is synthesized in the skin with the help of the natural ultraviolet wavelength of sunlight.
Humans can produce some vitamins from precursors they consume. xamples include vitamin A, produced from beta carotene, and niacin, from the amino
acid tryptophan.
Once growth and development are completed, vitamins remain essential nutrients for the healthy maintenance of the cells, tissues, and organs that make up a
multicellular organism; they also enable a multicellular life form to efficiently use chemical energy provided by food it eats, and to help process the proteins,
carbohydrates, and fats required for respiration.
Deficiencies
t was suggested that, when plants and animals began to transfer from the sea to rivers and land about 500 million years ago, environmental deficiency of marine
mineral antioxidants was a challenge to the evolution of terrestrial life. Terrestrial plants slowly optimized the production of "new endogenous antioxidants such as
ascorbic acid (Vitamin C), polyphenols, flavonoids, tocopherols, etc. Since this age, dietary vitamin deficiencies appeared in terrestrial animals. Humans must
consume vitamins periodically but with differing schedules, to avoid deficiency. Human bodily stores for different vitamins vary widely; vitamins A, D, and B12 are
stored in significant amounts in the human body, mainly in the liver, and an adult human's diet may be deficient in vitamins A and D for many months and B12 in
some cases for years, before developing a deficiency condition. However, vitamin B3 (niacin and niacinamide) is not stored in the human body in significant
amounts, so stores may last only a couple of weeks. For vitamin C, the first symptoms of scurvy in experimental studies of complete vitamin C deprivation in
humans have varied widely, from a month to more than six months, depending on previous dietary history that determined body stores.
Deficiencies of vitamins are classified as either primary or secondary. A primary deficiency occurs when an organism does not get enough of the vitamin in its
food. A secondary deficiency may be due to an underlying disorder that prevents or limits the absorption or use of the vitamin, due to a "lifestyle factor, such as
smoking, excessive alcohol consumption, or the use of medications that interfere with the absorption or use of the vitamin.
28
People who eat a varied diet are
unlikely to develop a severe primary vitamin deficiency. n contrast, restrictive diets have the potential to cause prolonged vitamin deficits, which may result in often
painful and potentially deadly diseases.
Well-known human vitamin deficiencies involve thiamine (beriberi), niacin (pellagra), vitamin C (scurvy), and vitamin D (rickets). n much of the developed world,
such deficiencies are rare; this is due to (1) an adequate supply of food and (2) the addition of vitamins and minerals to common foods, often called
fortification.
1828
n addition to these classical vitamin deficiency diseases, some evidence has also suggested links between vitamin deficiency and a number of
different disorders.
3435

Side-effects and overdose
n large doses, some vitamins have documented side-effects that tend to be more severe with a larger dosage. The likelihood of consuming too much of any
vitamin from food is remote, but overdosing (vitamin poisoning) from vitamin supplementation does occur. At high enough dosages, some vitamins cause side-
effects such as nausea, diarrhea, and vomiting. When side-effects emerge, recovery is often accomplished by reducing the dosage. The doses of vitamins differ
because individual tolerances can vary widely and appear to be related to age and state of health.
n 2008, overdose exposure to all formulations of vitamins and multivitamin-mineral formulations was reported by 68,911 individuals to the American Association of
Poison Control Centers (nearly 80% of these exposures were in children under the age of 6), leading to 8 "major" life-threatening outcomes and 0 deaths.